About food in Japan

Omiyage sweets in Hokkaido

On our last post under current series “Hokkaido”, we introduced one of the most popular Omiyage (お土産, souvenir gift), Shiroi Koibito (白い恋人). Following it, today we introduce other three interesting Omiyage products found in Hokkaido. 

In Hokkaido, we can find many attractive Omiyage products every souvenir shop, supermarket, department store etc. They are just only a tiny part of them though.

The first one is “Oranda Senbei” (オランダせんべい) which is a local specialty of Nemuro city(根室).

 

 

The word “Oranda” represents “The Netherlands” in Japanese and Senbei means “cracker.” So Oranda Senbei is “Dutch cracker”. It reminds some of you especially those in Europe “waffle” known in the Netherlands’ neighbor Belgium by it. Yes, it is!!

Actually Oranda senbei is considered coming from the Netherlands via Nagasaki, South part in Japan, where international trading was allowed only at its post in Edo period. It’s really amazing that the specialty in a country in Europe had traveled far away to this land of truly Far East, one of the north-most places, Nemuro in Hokkaido. It may take long time but the style remains very similar with the original waffle.

As for the taste, it is rather sweet as cracker. The texture is a bit soft and the taste is better when it is a bit heated. The taste is not so strong and it is also well matched with fruits jam or honey maybe.

We found the sweets shop which has produced Oranda Senbei exclusively for over 40 years. Only a few shops still produce and sell this interesting product but others already stopped or had gone unfortunately.

Shop name: Hashiya Kashiten (端谷菓子店)
Address: 2-11 Chishima-cho, Nemuro-city, Hokkaido
Website (only in Japanese): http://olandasenbei.com

 

The second interesting Omiyage product is called “Yama Oyaji”.
This is sweet cracker with the icon of a bear holding salmon. The product name Yama Oyaji (Mountain daddy) comes from a bear in this region which walked around freely in mountains. Yama Oyaji is produced by a local sweets producer, Senshuan, who was founded almost a century ago based in Sapporo. It is one of many products made with Hokkaido’s local ingredients by Senshuan.

 

The taste of Yama Oyaji cracker is rather simple like homemade cookies and is pure made from milk, butter and flour. It is appreciated by many from kids to elder generations and Yama Oyaji has known widely as a souvenir sweets of Hokkaido for long years. However in the era of 21st century, more and more other attractive sweets like Shiroi Koibito, or Rokkatei butter sand, were launched after Yama Oyaji. Now we have less chance to find the sweets cracker which is sold only in limited locations.

 

 

 

Shop Senshuan units are mainly located in Sapporo city including one in Chitose Airport and several are across Hokkaido.

Senshuan (Flagship store)
Address: Nishi 3chome 17, Minami 3Jyo, Chuo-ku, Sapporo-city
Website (Japanese only): http://senshuan.co.jp

 

The last one is a new type of Omiyage sweets which we found in many souvenir shops in Hokkaido. 

Hokkaido matrioshka; as we told on our post of Hokkaido introduction, in some parts of Hokkaido, Russian territory is close and less than 50km distance. Respecting and demonstrating friendship to the neighbor country, a sweets box is produced as “Hokkaido Matrioshka”.

The cute package obviously attracts Japanese girls and ladies travelers. Five pieces of small cakes are in a box and those 5 matrioshka dolls hold each different local specialty of Hokkaido. 

They are Crock tower in Sapporo, lily of the valley flower, bear (here again like Yama Oyaji), salmon and snowman in my box. Much more variations of Hokkaido specialty such as corn, potato are available and they are different box by box!!

 

The egg-like shape cake has “sweet-berry honeysuckle” paste in the center and it is coated by white chocolate. Sweet-berry honeysuckle or Hascup(ハスカップ) in Japanese is also Hokkaido’s unique berry fruits like blue berry.

 

Hokkaido matrioshka is available major souvenir shops across Hokkaido.
Official site of the product maker, Hase Confectionary Company (in Japanese) : 
http://www.hase-seika.co.jp/blog/2010/03/post-11.html

We will continue Hokkaido series post and a few more posts will be uploaded.

 

Hokkaido Omiyage, Shiroi Kokobito (白い恋人)

As a part of our series of blog post “Hokkaido”, we are going to talk about omiyage (お土産, souvenir gift) sweets for a while. Hokkaido is one of the most popular travel destinations for people in Tokyo and other parts of Japan. Then at everywhere in Hokkaido, we can find huge selections of sweets or snacks to be purchased as “omiyage” (souvenir gift). Hokkaido is a land of agriculture and daily farms in addition to fishery industry. That helps Hokkaido with offering wide variety of souvenir products. Milk, cheese, potato, Yubari melon as our previous post, and other ingredients considered as local specialty of Hokkaido are often used and can be found in omiyage product line-up.

Among the huge collections, firstly we introduce one of the most popular Omiyage sweets, Shiroi Koibito (白い恋人), along with its rival, “Rokkatei products” we introduced on our blog in the past.

Shiroi Koibito is biscuit-sand with a piece of white chocolate, a kind of cookies called “langue de chat” in Europe. The rich creamy white chocolate is an icon of daily products from Hokkaido, which attracts us so much!! Once you take a piece of Shiroi Koibito, you will understand why it is so popular. It will be available at major souvenir shops in tourist spots across Hokkaido and some variation in size are offered from 9 to 54 pieces per package depending on your needs and demand.

  

 

Most people or at lease those in East Japan can recognize Shiroi Koibito with this package. On this trip we came to know about the mountain depicted on the package for the first time.

 

This mountain covered with snow is the one called “Mt. Rishiri” or “Rishiri Fuji” located in Rishiri island (利尻島) in Hokkaido. The 1721-meter height mountain has beautiful shape like Mt. Fuji. The island is about 25km away from Hokkaido main land. It takes less than an hour by air from Sapporo Chitose airport or less than 2 hours by ship from Wakkanai port. 

 

 

Luckly we could find the mountain from the main land of Hokkaido around Wakkanai, as the weather was very fine.

 

Does it look like the package?

 

 

The view of Mt. Rishiri reminds us Shiroi Koibito on the way of driving in Hokkaido.

It was nice to know deeper about the most popular souvenir sweets.

 

On the next post, we will introduce other Omiyage sweets in Hokkaido.

 

Hokkaido's specialty, the most expensive melon, Yubari(夕張)

Hokkaido's local specialty is not limited to seafood. Here we introduce probably the most expensive "melon" in the world. 

Some of you may know that you can find many pricey fruits sold in Japan, especially in Tokyo. These fruits are supposed to be sent as a gift. Yubari melon (夕張メロン) is an icon of such gorgeous gift fruits. 

 

How much is it ?

On 5days ago, the first auction for 2014 season was taken place at Sapporo Central Wholeseller market.  

 

There the highest bidding price was recorded...

at 2.5 million yen(25,000 US dollars) for a pair of Yubari melons.

Here we have a web article

"A PRICEY PAIR OF CANTALOUPES"

http://www.ntv.co.jp/englishnews/society/a-pricey-pair-of-cantaloupes/

 

Of course, not all melons won't cost over 1 million. But still the price around Yen5000 per piece is very expensive compared with other fruits including other brands of melon. 

 

At least we could watch the farms and green houses of Yubari melon on our trip in Hokkaido. This is what we want to share on this post.

 

Just we could imagine the luxury fruits are inside the houses...

    

Wishing we can eat Yubari melon as much as we want some days in future, so far we only enjoy the flavor through processed products that are sold at more reasonable prices...

 

Such as ... 

Yubari melon cake 

(Price around just 1 US dollar at a local market)

 

or 

 

 

Yubari melon sherbet
(costs at 3 US dollars at a hotel's gift shop, still  resonable)

and others.

Yubari melon is available in markets during summer and are sold mainly at department stores or upscale fruits shops like Senbikiya.

 

Sweets in Okinawa

Finally at the end of Okinawa series blog posts lasting for 2months, like as the last dish of course diner, we will introduce some SWEETS found in Okinawa.

 

Traditional Sweets

As introduced in our previous post reporting Makishi Kosetsu Ichiba (public food market), Matsubaraya Seika (松原屋製菓) provides traditional sweets of Okinawa.

It is outside of Kosetsu Ichiba on the main street of shopping archade. You will find many mounts of sweets piled at the shop. Most of them are uniquely available in Okinawa but some, for example almond cake, are a bit similar to ones available in Europe.

   

Traditional sweets by Matsubaraya Seika

So many different and unfamilar sweets are available there.

It costs around Yen 100-200 per piece.

It's a fun to choose some of them from the wide selection,

even if we do not know well what is inside and what kind of taste it is actually.

 

Popular local brand x local ingredient

Formost Blue Seal ice cream company was founded in Okinawa in 1948. Originally it came from U.S.A. and served in American base camp. Now the brand name of Blue Seal ice cream has been known even in Tokyo as one of the item to try in Okinawa. 

We had been almost given up to try it on the trip in winter actually, because many others were also on the list to try. But at the end we found the sign of Blue Seal at Naha ariport just before onboarding.

 

Soft cream purple potato flavor

Purple potato (紫イモ) is also one of the local specialty in Okinawa.

The strong purple color has big impact visually and is often used for local sweets for souvenir.

The taste of the potato is not so strong as the color has.

So simply we can enjoy the cool texture.

 

 

 

National brand x local specialty

Last two are the ones we found either at a supermarket or convenience store.

Japanese major sweets comapny provides local products in Okinawa, which are not available in Tokyo, even though we wish to have them.

 

 

Chinsuko Ice cream

"Chinsuko" cookies is one of the most popular sweets. 

It is Okinawa version "British Short bread" if we explain it.

Crunched Chinsuko is in vanilla ice cream, as it is for Cookie & Cream.

     

Easily can imagine, it is GOOD!!

 

 

Another local version product by Meiji is

Shiikwaasaa (citrus depressa) jelly

  

It has fresh rich citrus flavor.  

Amazing to be able to get it at very reasonable price

a bit over Yen 100 for 3 packs.

 

 

Well, this is really the end of Okinawa series.

We wish you have enjoyed and could get some ideas what we should try on the southern island and how it is different from Tokyo and other mainland cities.

Hopefully we will be able to start next series Hokkaido, the northern land from May 2014.

It must be a good chance to find a big contrast between south and north of Japan!!

 

 

 

 

Fully enjoy Hokusai & his works of Mt. Fuji at Marunouchi, Tokyo

Surely you know the name of the most famous Ukiyoe woodprint artist, Katsushika Hokusai (葛飾北斎). During this summer, at Mitsubishi Ichigokan Museum(三菱一号館美術館) in Tokyo, one of the biggest Ukiyoe art exhibition "Floating World" has been taken place. Especially until 11th August 2013, under the theme "Tourism" over 180 Ukiyoe and other art works are presented. Katsushika Hokusai and Utagawa Hiroshige (歌川広重) are the two major artists for the collection, of course. One of the greatest Ukiyoe art collector, Mr. Saito has contributed to the exhibition with almost all of these works brought from his private collection and his private museum in Kawasaki.

One of the largest features of the second period is the seriese of "36 views of Mt. Fuji"(冨嶽三十六景) by Katsushika Hokusai as well as "53 stations of Tokaido"(東海道五十三次) by Utagawa Hiroshige. With these great collections, we could find wonderful scenes of Mt. Fuji which will be registered as UNESCO World Culture Heritage soon.

If you are interested in Ukiyoe art and have a plan to visit Tokyo this summer, don't miss the chance!! After the second period of the Ukiyone exhibition "Tourism", it will be followed by the third period with the theme "From Edo to Tokyo" taken palce between 13 August to 8 September 2013.

Celebrating the great exhibition, Cafe 1894 attached to the museum offers interesting drink called "Mt. Fuji Float".

This is it!! Mt. Fuji Float

Inspired from the work "Red Fuji" by Hokusai

It has 3 layers of jelly and

we can enjoy the drink by adding "ramune"(ラムネ) soda

with the Red Fuji label into the glass.

 

In addition, the cafe provides special lunch menu

for the Ukiyoe exhibition as following.

 

Starter - 5 assorted starters 

with some vegetables harvested in Edo or Tokyo.

The cup for cold corn soup is also "made in Tokyo"

with Edo-kiriko (江戸切子) glass cutting technique.

It makes us feeling cool from eyes in hot summer.

 

Duck on rice, as main dish

Another choice of main dish is "conger eel" (穴子, anago).

 

You might notice unique decoration of the cafe called "Cafe 1894". The building exterior and cafe interior are modeled from the former building which had been the place in Meiji era since year 1894. Especially the cafe decoration is replication from the bank office in that era.

We guess at the place we have the lunch..., can you imagine?! 100 years ago, wads of money must have been piled up there!! How fantastic it is if we could imagine that!!

 

Related posts: Another spots related Ukiyoe

Illy cafe with Ukiyoe (浮世絵), Nihombashi Tokyo

http://aboutfoodinjapan.weblogs.jp/blog/2013/01/illy-cafe-with-ukiyoe-nihombashi-tokyo.html

Hokusai (北斎), Japanese restaurant in Tokyo Disneyland

http://aboutfoodinjapan.weblogs.jp/blog/2013/03/hokusai-japanese-restaurant-in-tokyo-disneyland.html

 

Cafe name: Cafe 1894, Mitsubishi Ichigokan Museum (三菱一号館美術館)

Address: 2-6-2 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo

Mitsubishi Ichigokan Museum: http://mimt.jp

Mitsubishi Ichigokan Museum "Floating World" exhibition official:

 http://mimt.jp/ukiyoe/

Cafe official site: http://www.mimt.jp/english/cafe1894/

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Food store by a major food distributor, Kokubu with 300 years history

In SOLAMCHI, shopping complex at the foot of Tokyo Skytree, we found an interesting shop, called TONYA KOKUBU(国分問屋) offering some food and information rarely found in other retail stores.

The word of TONYA 問屋 represents "wholesaler" in Japanese. Kokubu has over 300 years history as a major wholesaler of food products. Because of the business category,Tonya Kokubu usually does not show up in front of general retail customers like us. But here on the 5th floor of Tokyo Skytree Solamachi, it provides an exhibition room of their products exclusively and some of them are available for purchase. We can find history of grocery food in Japan with some interesting packaging in old style.

 

 

 

 

Some unique products can be found there, which were developed by the established food distributor.

Here we can bring up some examples of their products which we can recommend as  good souvenir of Japan.

 

 

 

 

Age Okaki (揚おかき)

Rice crackers flavored with katsuo(bonite)  

 
It's collaboration with     NINBEN(にんべん) brand known

for the popular dried bonite or Katsuo-bushi.

Good match with both green tea and with beer.

 

 

CALPIS Yokan (カルピスようかん)

Calpis is one of the most popular lactobacillus beverage loved by locals for over decades.

It becomes Yokan, a kind of traditional jelly in Japan,

which is usually made from red beans.

 

Now they will be favourites of alchol lovers!

Canned snacks "Kantsuma" (缶つま) branded by Kokubu.

Whilte more than several choices are offered at the store, we selected two of them.

    Hotate (scalops) ほたて &  Atsugiri (thick) Bacon 厚切りベーコン  

What is great of the Kantsuma products is the ready-made snacks requires NO time to prepare nor a tin opener!! Just pull the handle and open the top. Even without heating in a microwave, it is still good. It will be easy to enjoy even while you are traveling and staying at a hotel room without kitchen. Just get a beer or your favourite drink from a convenience store. Or keep them as souvenir of Japan and bring them back to your home!!

Furthermore next to the exhibition room and retail store by TONYA KOKUBU, the company also provides a cafe exclusively serving their products in ways suggested by the producer.

 

Shop name:  TONYA KOKUBU 国分問屋

Address: SOLAMACHI 5th floor, Tokyo Skytree Town, 1-1-2 Oshiage, Sumida-ku, Tokyo

Official website: http://www.kokubu.co.jp

 

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Draw Mickey Mouse with FURIKAKE(ふりかけ, rice seasoning)

Following the last two posts featuring food related topics at Tokyo Disneyland, first about Restaurant Hokusai  and the second post, souvenir of Japan available at Tokyo Disneyland, this post features an interesting product we found at Tokyo Disneyland.

It is FURIKAKE (ふりかけ), as you may know from our previous post, it is seasoning specialized in Japanese style cooked rice.

This Furikake will be the best to place on rice in your lunch box. It will be fun to prepare and to show it to your friends.

 

Well, the package is like this.

We found at a souvenir shop in Tokyo Disneyland.

 

 

Normally Furikake is sold solely with single or assorted flavors

but this package is not so simple.

Sticks in three different colors of furikake powder and

Mickey face template sheets included.

 

 

Let's make a cute lunch box now.

 

Following the instruction,

a template is placed on a lunch box with cooked rice

 and put the yellow (egg flavor) furikake within the space of template.

 

 

As the second step, with the second template sheet  

two other colors are added one for head, ears, eyes and nose of Mickey Mouse

the one in pink is used only for his smiling mouth.

 

 

 

Then remove the sheet and find Mickey face you drew!!

Blurred !?!?

Never mind!! A pack includes three sets of Mickey Mouse drawing.

So you can try three times and will do it better next time!

The product introduced above, Mickey Mouse furikake, is available at souvenir shops at Tokyo Disneyland.

 

Related post: Furikake (ふりかけ), to make your rice more tasty!

http://aboutfoodinjapan.weblogs.jp/blog/2012/06/furikake-to-make-your-rice-more-tasty.html

Souvenir of Japan found at Tokyo Disneyland

Following our last post introducing a nice Japanese restaurant at Tokyo Disneyland, today we show you some products for souvenir of Japan that can be found at Tokyo Disneyland.

The American theme-park offers some cute and unique products exclusively available at Tokyo Disney Resort including two most popular leisure parks in Japan, "Tokyo Disneyland" and "Tokyo Disney Sea".

 

Firstly don't miss a chance to drop by a shop called Chiba Tradings Arts and Crafts at Tokyo Disneyland.

It is located in Adventureland not far from Jungle Cruise attraction, selling Japan and Chiba prefecture(where the park is situated)'s traditional craft products.

 

 

 

Rice bowl and other pottery wares by local producers WITH Mickey pattern.

 

If you are interested in...

a few of real arts and crafts are available.

They are decoration for traditional festivals. 

 

Even at other souvenir shops scattered across the park, you will find some clues of Japan, not only products with Disney characters. Here are some examples of food and food related products we found. 

 

Chop sticks

 

 

Instant Ramen, the small size ramen can be made in your soup cup

 

Rice crackers in Mickey shape

 

 

Kaki-no-tane (柿の種, traditional spicy rice crackers)

coated with berry or white chocolate

Outer it is sweet but inside it's hot!

The faintly spicy snack is in the cute pink package!! 

 

AND...

This is not strongly associated with Japan though,

one of the most popular souvenir among locals.

Chocolate crunch!! (cookie crashed and coated with chocolate)

 

We selected strawberry flavor this time.

 

More and more souvenir of Japan can be found at Tokyo Disney Resort. Not only enjoy riding Big Thunder Mountain roller coaster and watching Disney character shows, also visit some shops in the parks sometimes and find your favourite Mickey & Japan stuff!

 

On our next post, we will also focus on one of unique Japanese food products got at Tokyo Disneyland!!

 

Tokyo Disneyland official site: 

 http://www.tokyodisneyresort.co.jp/en/index.html

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

food 

 

chiba trading

 

Japanese tea salon - Toraya Akasaka flagship store(虎屋赤坂本店), Tokyo

As same with meal, Japanese sweets or confectionery is also unique and based on long tradition. We have introduced Japanese sweets and places to enjoy the delicacies time by time. For example: We showed beautiful small cakes in Japanese traditional style at "Wagashi (和菓子） - Shimizu (清水） in Kagurazaka" and reported traditional sweets making experience in Kanazawa, Hokuriku region on "Japanese Sweets making experience – Kanazawa (金沢)." As recommendable Japanese tea salon or cafe, we mentioned about a modern but sophisticated "Japanese Tea Salon - Higashiya, Ginza Tokyo" and a typical traditional style cafe "Takemura (竹むら), Japanese traditional sweets cafe".

A place to have Japanese traditional sweets is called in some different ways such as "Kanmi-dokoro (甘味処, sweets place)", "Saryo (茶寮, tea house)", "Sabo (茶房, tea place)", "Wa Cafe (和カフェ, Japanese style cafe)" etc. Some are very traditional and newers are modern and look like Western style cafe from outside. That might confuse you to know what it is. Anyway the best way will be to look at menu what they provide (many have menu with photos) and to look around space and what other people have. Whatever it is called, if many people are there and look happy with the place and sweets, you will also have a good experience. In central Tokyo, in general, comfortable tea rooms are likely to be busy with ladies on afternoon even on weekday.   

Toraya Akasaka flagship store (虎屋 赤坂本店) is also one of our recommendable tea salons to feel fine Japanese atmosphere. Toraya (虎屋) is an established sweets maker born in Kyoto over five hundreds years ago. In the past we posted two articles of units under Toraya chain brand,"Toraya Cafe, Roppongi (トラヤカフェ, 六本木)" and "Breakfast at Toraya Cafe Aoyama." They are newer and modern shops by the traditional sweets house. Now we come back to the original where traditional Japanese sweets are served.

Toraya Akasaka flagship store is located along Aoyama Street. It takes about 5-minute-walk from Akasaka Mitsuke (赤坂見附) station and not far from Hotel New Otani and TBS broadcasting center. As per Toraya's official site, the sweets producer has a factory just next to Akasaka Imperial Palace, in prime location close to the flagship store. Toraya's products have been provided on the Imperial family of Japan even since Edo period, when the family was based in Kyoto.

If you leant Hiragana (Japanese letters), you might wonder the logo expressing as "やらと" (Ya Ra To) opposite of "Toraya (とらや)." It implies the house exists since Edo period when people wrote letters from left to right, not in the modern way as same with Western world right to left. Yes, Toraya has used the logo for hundreds of years.

 

Toraya boutique is on the ground floor of the flagship store and the tea salon (Toraya Saryo, 虎屋茶寮) is on the underground floor. The building and interior are modern and clean. The tea salon is peacefully calm with graceful guests and staff as if it was on a tea ceremony.

 

Toraya tea salon offers some set menu including a piece of traditional sweets such as Yokan (羊羹, beans cake) or Nama-gashi (生菓子, fresh cake), the house's major product and green tea.

 

 

 

 

This is a set of Seasonal Yokan, the most-known Toraya's product

and Matcha (powdered green tea often sereved at a tea ceremony).

 

Seasonal Yokan at that time, the end of February is

"Kobai (紅梅, red Japanese plum)"

It's a way in which we appreicate the beauty of each season, through food and sweets.

 

The bowl of Matcha is with pictures of smiley Hina Dolls (ひな人形)

which are symbols of Girls' Festival (Hina-Matsuri, ひな祭り) on 3rd March.

Obviously the bowl is used only for limited period. 

Toraya changes even bowls by season.

The hospitality comes from the spirit of tea ceremony.

 

 Toraya Saryo (虎屋茶寮) tea salon has also units at Ginza Chuo main street, Imperial Hotel Tokyo, Isetan Department in Shinjuku. We guess the flagship store in Akasaka provides the most peceful environment and sublime atomosphere among them.

 

Name: Toraya Akasaka Honten (虎屋赤坂本店), Toraya Saryo (虎屋茶寮)

Address: 4-9-22, Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo

Toraya Saryo Official site: http://www.toraya-group.co.jp/shops/sho04.html 

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****** Our recommendable accommodation around this restaurant *******

ANA InterContinental Hotel

Hotel New Otani Tokyo

The Capitol Hotel Tokyu

the b Akasaka

*************************************************************************

 

 

 

 

Castle Town Odawara (小田原)

Odawara (小田原) is a castle town in Kanagawa prefecture, situating between Tokyo or Yokohama and Hakone Hot spring resort (箱根温泉地). It takes only 35 minutes by Shinkansen or about 70 minutes journey even by JR local express trains (Tokaido Line) from Tokyo. It must be the most closest castle town from Tokyo, apart from Edo castle or Imperial Palace in central Tokyo.

 

Odawara Castle is 10 mintes walk from Odawara train station, following the town's main street to the castle gate. 

 

Top floors of Odawara Castle is accessible as exhibition halls and observation deck. So going through to the castle garden, climbing up to the top!!

 

At the garden surrounding Odawara Castle, on February, you will find plum (Ume, 梅) blossoms which is one of the most popular tourist attractions of Odawara Castle for local people. The weather is still cold on the month but it is a sign of coming Spring.  

Enjoying the nature plants and looking at the castle from different sides, don't give up going up to the castle top!! 

 

We also found monkeies at the castle park just before the castle main tower... 

 

 

 

 

It will be a good half-day exercise to climb up to the castle top and walk around the castel park.

 

The reward of climing up exercise is

the VIEW from the TOP of Odawara Castel

 

 Odawara town, Pacific Ocean and mountains

You will find Odawara town's unique location

in narrow area between Ocean and mountains.

It was strategically choosen by former Samurai governors.

 

The exhibition halls inside the castle main tower is also recommendable to spend around 20- 30minutes to watch the interesting collections from Edo period. Cultural works, folk objects at the exhibition will tell you tradition and life of Japanese in Edo era. 

After enjoying the beautiful shape of historical castle, let's find FOOD or Sweets in Odawara.

Japanese traditional sweets have been often cultivated by local governors as a part of rich local culture.

Here we introduce two most interesting sweets souvenir in Odawara.

 

Firstly from the souvenir shop on the top floor of Odawara Castle,

Buke Yokan (武家ようかん, Samurai family sweet beans cake)

  

Each different family emblem with name of Samurai

is attached to each box of Yokan.

As it has tens choices of Samurai name and emblems,

even if you don't know each of them,

it must be fun to look around the variaties of emblems and colors.

 

Next our finding is from a small local sweet boutique, called Fugetsudo (風月堂).

It is less than 5 minutes walk from Odawara Castle and along one of the town's main street.

Fugetsudo is a popular name for Japanese traditional sweet shops. You could find a shop with same name in other towns. The most famous one is in Kobe and sells "Gaufre" cookies. Each of them is different and not a chain affiliate. Just for your information.

 

 

 

Castle Monaka(城下町もなか, Joka machi monaka)

by Fugetsudo Odawara

Amazing small piece of Monaka (sweet beans cake with shells)

in shape of CASTLE!!!

It's a great Japanese art work,

which you can bring back to your country.

(have to keep in a box, so as not to be broken though)

 

It will be an interesting full-day excursion to go out from Tokyo by Shinkansen or local JR train and to walk around Odawara Castle as well as the old town surrounding the castle, discovering traditional products like above.

 

Odawara Castle  

Nearest station: Odawara (JR and Odakyu lines)

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Shop name: Fugetsudo Odawara (風月堂)

Address: 1-10-20 Honcho, Odawara-city, Kanagawa

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